The Avatar Chronicles
by 177624601
Summary: What happened in the 100 years between when Aang disappeared and when he was discovered by Katara and Sokka? A lot. Reviews encouraged.
1. Year 1

A/N: A.R.- (years) After Roku

12 A.R.

"How do you know it's me?" The young child asked with fear as he sat before the council of monks at the airbending monastery. 

"We have known you were the Avatar for some time. Do you remember these?" Replied Monk Shosen inquiringly. 

"Those were some of my favorite toys when I was little!"

"You chose them from among thousands of toys, Aang. The toys you picked were the four Avatar relics. These items belonged to Avatars past. Your own past lives." 

"I just chose them because they seemed fun." 

"You chose them because they were familiar." 

Finally, the boy's close friend and personal guardian and teacher, Monk Gyatso, spoke up. "Normally we would have told you of your identity when you turned 16, but there are troubling signs, storm clouds are gathering." 

"I fear that war may be upon us, young Avatar." Added the Abbot, Monk Tupho. 

"We need you, Aang."

The coming weeks were not friendly to the tattooed boy. They continually shunned him until he was an outcast to everyone but the monks, Monk Gyatsu his only playmate. One day, as he was walking past the Abbot's quarters, he heard some men talking.

"Aang needs to have freedom and fun. He needs to grow up as a normal boy." Came Monk Gyatso's voice.

"Humph! You cannot keep protecting him from his destiny." Added Monk Shosen.

"Gyatso, I know you mean well, but you are letting your affection for the boy cloud your judgment." Replied the Abbot.

"All I want is what is best for him."

"But what we need is what's best for the world. You and Aang must be separated. The Avatar will be sent away to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training."

That night, a shadow crept through the halls of the monastery to the stables, where the flying bison were kept. Appa, his animal guide, yawned as Aang nudged him awake before saddling him. "Appa," the young man barked, "yip yip!" Turning in his saddle, Aang bade a tearful, silent farewell before leaving the monastery, leaving only a note for Monk Gyatso.

Fire Lord Sozin smiled as he gazed out over the continent, but it was mirthless, and even more devoid of warmth. He could tell today would be a "Day of Destiny" as he called it, a day that was to be the epicenter of something huge, the fulcrum of some monumental event epic enough to shape the world's future, even though he couldn't tell what that event was going to be, except that it would be in his favor. "You're awake." He said as his wife, Fire Lady Kofa, rose to greet the dawn.

"Good morning, my love." She replied.

"Good morning." He never addressed her in terms of endearment, or showed any love to her. To him, such things were folly. Deep in her heart Kofa knew he would never love her, but she knew that if she ever made it seem like she didn't love him, it could mean death for her, as was the case with Gon-Li, his last wife.

"How are you feeling this morning, milady?" asked her lady-in-waiting, Moku, as she breezed through the door.

"Stiff. Last night, the baby wouldn't stop kicking."

"Well, don't worry. Dr. Mako says you should give birth within the month."

"My Lord, I have excellent news." The royal soothsayer said as Sozin entered her quarters that evening, her youthful face prematurely wrinkled from years of divining signs from the Universe.

"Yes, Pao, what is it?"

"My lord, tomorrow night, a fiery messenger from above will come down and provide us with strength to enforce our military might, and with the Avatar gone…"

"Wait, the Avatar's gone?"

"Yes."

"Where is he?"

"I cannot say. All I can say is that his spiritual beacon is so weak, it's impossible for me to find it, and considering this is the Avatar we're talking about, that's saying something. Now as I was saying, with the Avatar gone, now would be an excellent time to set your plan into action. Now, I suggest you go to your wife. She needs you." With That, Sozin left.

As he neared the royal bedchamber, he heard his wife's screams of pain. Entering, he saw Dr. Mako and the royal midwife standing between the Fire Lady's legs, which were totally bare, as Moku applied a cool, damp towel to Kofa's forehead. "Push, milady, push." Dr. Mako said, his pinched cheeks and thin stern lips made even sharper out of concentration. "Oh, good evening, milord."

"Good evening, Dr. How is she?"

"She's doing well, milord."

"Sozin?" Kofa asked, slightly delirious, her face as red as her gown. "Is that you, my sweet?"

"Yes, Kofa, it's me." He said as he joined her by her side.

"One more push, milady." Dr. Mako said as Kofa gave an almighty shriek as an infant started to cry. "Congratulations, Lord and Lady, you have borne a prince."

"My dear," Kofa whispered, too weak to raise even her voice, "I won't live to see the next minute. Name our son as you see fi…"

Not even batting an eye as his wife of ten years passed into the next life, Sozin searched his memory for a fitting namesake for the child he held in his arms before declaring "Azulon. He shall be named Azulon, after my grandfather, Ozulon. Take the child." He said as he passed the baby to the midwife. "Dr. Mako, have one of my men arrange a state funeral for Kofa. I have plans to attend to."

"General Tao, Fire Lord Sozin requests a word with you." The soldier stated as the maid who had shown him in left.

"Can't you see I'm in the middle of dinner?" The officer barked as he rose from the end of the long table, irritated to have been interrupted during his sumptuous repast of chicken pig-stuffed-rabbit, a rare delicacy. "Tell the Fire Lord I'm busy."

"He demands you have an audience with him. I don't think you need to be reminded that it could mean death for you if you deny an order made by Fire Lord Sozin, as per the first edict he had passed."

"Soldier, you serve me, not the other way around! If Fire Lord Sozin wishes to speak with me, let him come _to me!_"

"But sir, I could be execu…"

"You are one soldier in many! What would one death count? Besides, how do I know you aren't lying to me by saying that about Fire Lord Sozin? How do I know you don't wish to lure me out just so you can have me assassinated?"

"But sir…"

"If you do not leave now, _soldier_, I shall challenge you to an agni kai! Now tell me, how would a lesser firebender such as you fare against a skilled one such as me?"

His voice barely betraying his anger, the soldier stated as he left, "Farewell, General. I trust you'll be hearing from Fire Lord Sozin before the night's end."

As soon as the intruder had left, Tao sat back down and resumed his meal as though nothing had happened. No sooner had he finished when there was a loud knocking on the door.

"Fire Lord Sozin, master." The maid said as she admitted a man of a most imposing stature.

Fire Lord Sozin had worn his most impressive outfit, one usually reserved for celebrations and major affairs of state. It was a shade of the deepest crimson, with a gold trim and two dueling dragons embroidered on the chest, the dominant one a brilliant gold, the lesser a pale silver. On his brow he wore a crown of gold with blood red silk and a huge ruby in the center. "Fire Lord Sozin! I-it's an-an-an honor you ch-chose to visit my humble abode." Tao stated as he prostrated himself before Sozin.

"How dare you defy an order! You, as you were so quick to remind the soldier, serve me, not the other way around! Consider yourself lucky I am feeling merciful today, coward, or the Fire Nation would have been deprived of two citizens. As it is, I have decided to grant you and the boy second chances. I am sending you and the boy to the Southern Air Temple with a fleet of ships."

"But sir, what about the Avatar?" Asked Tao as he lifted his face to Sozin.

"FACE DOWN, COWARD! As for your question, the Avatar has disappeared. Now the Air Nomads should be no match for you."

"But sir, where will you be?"

"General Tao, if I have to remind you to face the floor again, you'd better leave the Fire Nation tonight and pray my men never find you! I will be here for Kofa's funeral for a few days before heading off to conquer the Northern Air Temple. When you are finished, contact me, and we will make for the Eastern Air Temple."

That night, Sozin stood before a statue of Avatar Roku that had been erected in a temple near Crescent Moon Isle. "Avatar Roku was a good man." Said the temple's caretaker.

"He was weak." Replied the Fire Lord.

"How can you say that about him?"

"He never wanted to fight. The man was a coward, always trying to maintain peace by negotiation, never willing to fight. 'Peace through subjugation is not peace.' He always told me." Sozin stated mockingly.

"If you disliked him so much, why are you here?"

"Because it's good luck for a leader to visit his nation's latest Avatar, especially when the nation needs it. Aside from that, I have no allegiance to him."

"But sir, he was your father."

The old monk wept as he sat before the Fire Nation General. The attack on the temple had been so sudden that the ensuing battle had lasted only a day. He was the only one left, now. None had been spared. Not even the children. The few who had managed to free their Flying Bison in order to escape were quickly shot down. He could only hope Aang, his former pupil, was safe, wherever he was.

The Northern Air Temple's luck was just as bad. The night Fire Lord Sozin and his men had arrived, he ordered them to find the Flying Bison stables and kill each one. Then he ordered all the monks killed in their sleep, so that when day broke, and the Firebenders were at their most powerful, none but children would remain, ensuring victory. The Eastern Air Temple never even had a chance.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: I named the doctor after Mako, the now deceased original voice actor behind Uncle Iroh.


	2. Year 2

13 A.R.

Earth Kingdom city to the far north, but by the time the battle was over, every man, woman, and child had died, forcing the Fire Nation to abandon it for the sake of money; and recently they lost many of their soldiers at the Battle of Kyoshi.

"Girls." He said to Captain Yama, the one who'd led the attack. "We were beaten by nothing but a bunch of little _girls!_"

"With all due respect, milord, they were well educated, each of them having been trained in the ways of the Warriors of Kyoshi since they were six."

"They may have been well trained girls, then, but girls nonetheless. I want you to try again, and if you don't succeed, consider yourself banished, never to return upon pain of death. To show that I am not completely without mercy, I will grant you this: you may only return if you conquer another civilization." That was the last he heard from Captain Yama.

The battle had been a major failure. When they arrived at Kyoshi, he had over 1,000 men at his command. By the time the battle was over, he had 250. "Where are we, commander?"

"About 128 knots away from the south pole." _The Southern Water Tribe. They haven't been conquered yet._ The Captain thought to himself. Formulating a plan, he told the commander to make for land. They were less than 15 knots from land when their ship got stuck in the ice. The ship was abandoned, never to be visited by humans for almost a century. The crew was never seen or heard from again.


	3. Year 3

14 A.R.

"Mama? Where dada?" The young prince asked.

"Dada's away, Azulon." Fire Lady Taizin replied. "He's off, persuading the Earth Kingdom mining town of Ko Shin." Secretly, the beautiful knew what Sozin was doing. He was off punishing the Earth Kingdom for lack of realizing success, something the pestilential fools had done for decades. Now they were going to pay the price by handing over their mines and coal to the Fire Navy. Usually, the Fire Lord didn't personally go to battle, but this was a special occasion.

"Volley!" Shouted the Fire Lord. With that, thousands of flaming arrows tore through the night sky, many of them hitting their marks.

"Hold the gate!" The Earth Kingdom colonel bellowed as a cliff face appeared and covered the city gate.

"My Lord, we burned down the city gates, but they bended a wall behind it. What do we do?"

"Destroy it."

"Right. Catapults, at the ready! Volley!" With that, hundreds of boulders hurled themselves through the air, the city wall crumbling under their mighty weight as the stones dealt the city a death blow. The resulting damage killed many of the Earth Kingdom soldiers there, the others and their fellow too surprised by the suddenness of the attack to do anything when they were kidnapped by the Fire Nation soldiers as they climbed over the remnants of the wall.

The colonel knew then that the battle was over. "Retreat!" he yelled, but all the exits had been sealed off. The last thing he saw was the business end of a Fire Nation archery set. The soldiers who tried to retreat met a similar end, and the surviving soldiers and earthbenders knew a fate hardly better: toiling endlessly under his Majesty, Fire Lord Sozin for the glory of the Fire Nation on board their ships.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your Emperor, Fire Lord Sozin." Announced Sozin's majordomo as the Fire Lord disembarked from his ship, the Togi.

"My loyal subjects," Sozin stated as he ascended the podium, "we recently dealt a major blow to the Earth Kingdom and her allies! By conquering a mining city, we not only greatly increased the coal sources for our ships, we also significantly restricted their coal resources. Now none can defeat us!

"We have a hard journey ahead of us, but we will pull through. We can do it! The Fire Nation military is the strongest military this world has ever known!We have the power.

"But remember, victory does not come without sacrifice. I urge every able bodied young man out there to join the Military. You are the strongest in the land, and a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Many out there would stop at nothing to stop us, but nothing can stop progress! Your country is the wealthiest in the world, defend her! Others would take away your freedom! Defending your country means defending your liberties!"


End file.
